Quick, Amanda - Slightly Shady.txt Read Online Free Page B

gang's leader." "Was that all he said in his note?" "All? Isn't that enough? Mr. March, in spite of your best efforts, my niece and I managed to survive your assault on our business in Rome. Barely." He inclined his head. "I rather thought you might come about again. Yours is a spirit that does not sink easily." She ignored that. "Indeed, things are going rather well at the moment. I have every hope of giving Emeline a taste of a real Season. With luck, she may even meet an eligible gentleman who can support her in the manner to which I wish to see her accustomed. This is a rather delicate time, if you see what I mean. I cannot allow her name to be tainted by the least hint of gossip." "I see." "If Felix had bruited it about that she had at one time been in- volved in a shop that catered to villains in Rome, the damage would be incalculable." "I suppose gossip to the effect that she was the niece of the mistress of a notorious criminal lord would complicate your scheme to launch Miss Emeline into the social whirl." "Complicate it? It would ruin everything. This is all so very unfair. Emeline and I had nothing to do with those villains and the man you called CarAisle. I don't see how any person possessed of even a small measure of refined sensibilities could leap to the conclusion that my niece and I consorted with thieves and murderers." "I leaped to that conclusion for a short time at the start of the affair, if you will recall." "I do not find that particularly surprising," she said grimly "I was referring to persons possessed of refined sensibilities. That group would hardly include you, sir." "Or Holton Felix, apparently." Tobias looked at the body. "But I think it would be best to save this discussion of my lack of ex-' quisite sensibilities for another occasion when we will have the leisure to examine my flaws in detail. At the moment, we have other problems. I assume we are both here for the same purpose." "I don't know why you are here, Mr. March, but I came to search for a certain diary thatapparently once belonged to the valet of Mr. Carlisle. The man you claimed was the leader of the criminal gang in Rome." She paused, frowning. "What do you know of this affair?" "You know the old saying 'No man is a hero to his valet.' It seems that Carlisle's faithful servant kept a private record of his employer's most damning secrets. After Carlisle's death-" "Carlisle is dead?" "Quite. As I was saying, the valet sold the diary to purchase passage back to England. He was killed, apparently by a footpad, before he got out of Rome. From what I was able to determine, the diary was sold twice after that. In both instances, the temporary possessors have suffered fatal accidents." He angled his head toward Felix's body. "And now there is a third death associated with the damn thing."
    Lavinia swallowed. "Good heavens." "Indeed." Tobias left the doorway to walk toward the desk. Lavinia watched him uneasily. There was something odd about the way he moved, she thought; a slight but detectable catch in his gait. A limp, actually. She could have sworn there had been no such hesitation in his stride the last time she saw him. "How do you come to know so much about this diary?" she asked. "I have been on the trail of the damned thing for the past few weeks. Followed it across the Continent. I arrived in England a few days ago." "Why have you chased after it?" Tobias jerked open a desk drawer. "Among other interesting bits of gossip, I believe it to contain information that may answer some questions for my client." "What sort of questions?" He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Questions of treason and murder." "Treason?" "During the war." He opened another drawer and rifled through some papers. "We really do not have time to go into the details of the matter. I shall explain later." "Never say you failed in your endeavors in Rome, Mr. March. Surely, after all you put us through that dreadful night, you did not fumble the prize? What,